Digital Intervention in Children With Developmental Language Disorder: Systematic Review

Area of Science:

• Speech and Language Pathology
• Developmental Psychology
• Digital Health Interventions

Background:

• Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) is a common neurodevelopmental condition impacting language and communication.
• Effective interventions are crucial for improving outcomes and preventing long-term challenges.
• Digital interventions offer a promising avenue to supplement traditional therapy, enhancing accessibility and reducing therapist workload.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review the language domains most frequently targeted by digital interventions for children with DLD.
• To identify patterns in the application of digital tools for DLD therapy.

Main Methods:

• A systematic review was conducted using data from PubMed, Scopus, PsycInfo, and IEEE Xplore.
• Inclusion criteria focused on studies of digital interventions for diagnosed DLD patients, reporting language outcomes.
• A PRISMA-adapted methodology was employed for screening, data extraction, and quality assessment.

Main Results:

• Thirteen studies involving 961 children with DLD were included.
• Phonological skills were the most targeted domain (5 studies), followed by general language function (3), grammar (3), and vocabulary (2).
• Included studies comprised 8 randomized controlled trials and 5 quasi-experimental designs.

Conclusions:

• Phonological skills are the primary focus of current digital interventions for DLD.
• The effectiveness of digital interventions for improving various language skills in DLD remains uncertain due to study heterogeneity.
• Further high-quality research, particularly randomized controlled trials, is necessary to guide the development and validate digital expressive language training programs.